


Anastasia: the Musical

by DWrites



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Minor Gideon/Rip Hunter, Minor Nate Heywood/Amaya Jiwe, Minor Ray Palmer/Kendra Saunders, Minor Sara Lance/Ava Sharpe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 08:14:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25540108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DWrites/pseuds/DWrites
Summary: The Legends are cast into the school's production of Anastasia.Featuring the Zari twins.
Relationships: John Constantine/Zari Tomaz | Zari Tarazi, Nate Heywood/Zari Tomaz | Zari Tarazi, Nora Darhk/Ray Palmer
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	Anastasia: the Musical

It had all started in English. John was sitting in the back of the classroom with Charlie, not really paying attention to what was happening. They were acting out _Romeo and Juliet_. Each day, the teacher chose different students to play the roles. And today was no different.

“Alright, Act II, Scene 2! Also known as the balcony scene!” The teacher announced. “Juliet shall be played by . . . Zari.”

Zari rose from her desk gracefully and smiled. She walked to the front of the room, her booklet open and ready. She was involved in all the shows at the high school, as well as pretty much every aspect of social life at the high school. Incidentally, her twin sister, Z, and younger brother, Behrad, were pretty close with John and Charlie. Zari ran in more popular circles, and so their friend group never really interacted with her.

The teacher’s gaze swept across the room. “And Romeo shall be played by . . .” The gaze landed on John, who sighed. “John.”

John grabbed his booklet, which was in his backpack, and went to the middle of the room, where Zari was. She smiled warmly at him and waited for him to begin the scene. John took a deep breath and started to recite his lines. At first he was being overdramatic on purpose, for humor’s sake, but then he felt himself being drawn into her performance. Unlike the entirety of the class, she was an avid Shakespeare fan and fully immersed herself into the play. Watching her portray Juliet was astonishing. She should be on stage, not in front of their English class. As the scene continued, John felt himself actually trying to convey emotion within Romeo’s lines. Zari carried herself as Juliet, and John felt like it would be a disservice to her to not try.

Of course, Zari was just acting, yet John couldn’t help but feel as if there was something else in her words, and in her kind gaze. The scene ended, and the class clapped. John gulped and went to sit down at the back of the class. Zari sat down at her seat, and the teacher began to talk about the scene. John feigned interest, and pretended to not see Charlie’s smirk.

*

The next day, Zari approached her siblings and their friends at lunch.

“Hello, sister, brother, friends,” Zari greeted them with a dazzling smile.

Some of them looked a little confused, as Zari usually stuck to her own friend group.

“Hey, Zari,” Sara grinned back at her.

“Do any of you know where John is?”

Z choked on her food. “John Constantine?! Why do you want him?”

Zari rolled her eyes. “We acted out a scene from Romeo and Juliet in class yesterday. He was extremely good, and I wanted to inquire as to whether he would audition for the spring musical.”

Ava snorted. “John? In a musical?”

“I mean, he is in a band,” Sara mused.

Zari sighed. “Well, can you relay the message?”

Z nodded.

“Hey, why don’t we all audition?!” Sara said, widening her eyes. “Some of us can sing and dance, and I bet a few of us can even act!”

Zari smiled brightly. “Perfect! We’re doing _Anastasia_. And, strangely enough, Dr. Stein is directing it.”

Ray frowned, “Our physics teacher?”

Zari nodded, “Apparently he’s enthusiastic about the arts. I got to go, bye!”

Zari walked away and the group all looked at each other and grinned.

“I guess we’re auditioning for the musical,” Ava said, looking a tad apprehensive.

After they were done eating, they left the cafeteria in search of John. They found him sitting in the main atrium, with Charlie, eating and laughing. When they told John, his response was an “absolutely not.”

“We all are auditioning,” Sara said. “The musical is _Anastasia_. It was one of my favorite’s growing up. It was too scary for my sister. She hated Rasputin.”

Ray frowned in thought, “Actually, the stage musical has Gleb and Russian soldiers acting as the antagonist. Rasputin never appears in it.”

“Shame,” Sara shook her head.

“Look, John, just audition,” Z said, lightly kicking his foot. “What could happen?”

“Alright, alright, I’ll bloody audition! Now leave me alone!”

The gang left John and Charlie, sitting there.

Charlie turned to John with a grin, “So, we’re auditioning then? Excellent!”

“You can. I am not. I just said that so they’ll leave me alone.”

Charlie snorted. “Who else would complement Zari’s lost princess than a roguish Dmitry embodied by John Constantine?”

John’s cheeks flushed and Charlie elbowed him in the ribs. “Yeah, I saw you two in English. You had crazy chemistry as Romeo and Juliet.”

John rolled his eyes, “And what if Zari doesn’t get the lead?”

Charlie laughed. “She’s been the lead since freshman year. And she’ll have to kiss the male lead. Which could be you, John-O.”

John sighed. “Okay, I’ll audition. Happy?”

“Ecstatic.”

*

Dr. Stein was thrilled to learn that they were all auditioning.

“Astonishing! It’s going to be a great musical. You know, Jefferson told me that he was studying the Russian Revolution, and then I go asked to direct the musical. It was like fate wanted us to put on _Anastasia_! We have some middle schoolers that are going to play young Anastasia and Alexei. It is going to be the best musical this school has ever seen!”

*

Z grinned as she watched the auditions. There were scene reads, singing demos, and dance numbers. Sara of course nailed it at the dance number. Zari was perfect in everything, which was no surprise. Z was surprised at John’s audition: he seemed to take it seriously and was pretty good. He and Charlie sang a duet together for the singing part of the audition. Nate, Behrad, and Ray also auditioned, and somehow Ray convinced Nora to audition as well. Nora was a little bit of a goth and little scary, but Ray liked her and she seemed to like him back. A begrudged Ava was also there, likely because of Sara. Z, of course, would be doing tech during the musical. She enjoyed being behind the scenes, running tech, and being able to watch the musical play out.

Z had also breathed a sigh of relief when the callback list came out, and everyone’s name was on it. The callbacks went along similarly, although her friends seemed to be taking it a bit more seriously. Nate had been taken it super seriously, and when she asked him about it, he just smiled and said he was imitating his father.

*

Zari walked into school, excited about the cast list. She was confident that she was Anastasia, she had knocked it out of the park. But what she was really interested in was her fellow cast mates. She had been super happy that John and everyone had auditioned with her. Zari approached the door, where a few people were gathered. They moved out of the way and she looked over the main list.

_Cast List_

_Anya/Anastasia: Zari Tarazi_

_Dmitry: John Constantine_

_Gleb Vaganov: Nate Heywood_

_Vlad Popov: Ray Palmer_

_Countess Lily Malevsky-Malevitch: Nora Darhk_

_Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna: Ava Sharpe_

Zari felt her heart flutter when she read that John would be playing Dmitry, Anastasia’s love interest. She shook her head and looked down at the ensemble. Sara and Charlie were playing two of the Romanov sisters, as well as the ballerinas in the second act. Behrad was also a part of the ensemble.

“Wow, we just took over the musical,” Z appeared next to Zari and grinned. “Nate did an impression of his dad at the audition. He’s not the best singer, but he can act! And you and John, of course, are playing the leads.”

“You all really did take over the musical,” Zari turned towards her sister. “Where was this talent hiding?”

Z shrugged, “Not sure. We can’t rule out Stein favoritism though.”

“Oh please, no one tries with the musical,” Zari said, sighing. “It has been lacking a good director and passionate players. Hopefully you guys can bring that.”

“We always bring it.” Z took out her phone and took a picture of the cast list. She sent it in the group chat and was about to put her phone away when she glanced at her sister.

“I can add you to the group chat? If you want?”

Zari seemed shocked. “Oh, yeah. That’ll be great."

*

The early rehearsals had been going well. Sara and Charlie were killing it at the dancing, and had taken another one of the dancers, a freshman named Mona, under their wing. Z was currently dealing with Mick Rory, who had told her he was going to help with lighting. Jax, who was a part of the stage crew, mentioned that Snart was also helping out.

“Brownie points,” Snart had explained. “A positive extracurricular activity looks nice in court.”

Z had just sighed and figured Sara would keep them in line, like she always does. She didn’t know exactly how they became acquainted with their friend group, but Mick would sometimes eat lunch with them, and he was usually trustworthy. She knew there were other people who used to be in the group as well, but had left, usually due to break-ups. She had heard Kendra and Ray had dated for a little, before Kendra got back together with her ex, Carter. And Z was around when Nate was dating Amaya. She had broken it off, though, and a little while later, Z and Nate had started dating. And so the friend group lost a member again, but had also gained a couple, including Behrad, who got along really well with Ray and Nate.

*

That night, Ray, Nate, Sara, Ava had all come over to the Tarazi residence to hang out and play video games in the basement. Behrad and Sara were facing off, while Nate, Ray, and Ava cheered them on. Z was sent upstairs to find the Cheez-its, a responsibility she took very seriously. Unfortunately, she could not locate them in the kitchen.

“Of course,” she muttered to herself. She had hidden the Cheez-its in her room, since Behrad also liked to snack on them. She quickly ran upstairs and entered her room to grab the box. She was about to leave, when she heard the sound of sniffling from the room adjacent to hers.

When they were growing up, Z and her twin, Zari, had shared a room, with Behrad having the other room. Then, once Behrad hit middle school, he decided he would rather have his room in the basement, which worked out for the twins. Z had moved into Behrad’s old room, and Zari had completely renovated their room, where she generally stays throughout the evening.

Z took a deep breath and knocked on the door. “Zari?”

“What?” a muffled, slightly annoyed reply came back.

“Everything alright in there?”

The door lurched open to Zari, her eye makeup running down her face. “No. Everything is not alright.”

“What happened?”

“Like you care.”

Z and Zari weren’t really that close. With different friend groups and different personalities, they barely spoke.

Z sighed and tried again. “What happened, Zari?”

“It's stupid, but . . . my friends . . . they’re hanging out without me. They’re having so much fun, and not one of them reached out to include me,” Zari mumbled.

“Wow, your friends do sound stupid. Look, me and Behrad are in the basement with our friends. Why don’t you join us?”

Zari looked at her strangely. “Why would they want to hang out with me?”

Z sighed. “Look, you’re not terrible to be around, and besides, this group enjoys adopting people. Anyways, they all joined the musical because you suggested it.”

“I’ll be down in a little,” Zari mumbled and closed the door.

Z headed downstairs with the box of Cheez-its, which she passed to Nate. She watched Behrad and Sara virtually fight. Sara was currently winning.

“You don’t even play video games!” Behrad complained.

Sara smirked. “No, but I have a mind for strategy.”

The group laughed and continued to watch. Eventually, the basement door opened and Zari came hesitantly down the steps. She had cleaned up her face, and was just in a big sweater and leggings.

“Zari!” Behrad grinned. “Your turn!” He stretched his controller out towards her.

“I don’t really know how to play…” Zari trailed off.

“You know what? Neither do I,” Nate smiled kindly. “I’ll play with you.”

Zari nodded and sat down on the ground, next to Behrad. Nate took Sara’s controller and the virtual fight started again.

“C’mon buddy!” Ray shouted, patting him on the back.

“Nate, I love you, but I’m rooting for Zari,” Z said.

“Hey!” Nate protested.

After their round, which Zari had won, Ray took over from her to face Nate.

“This is fun. Thank you,” Zari said to her sister.

Z grinned, “No problem. You’re welcome to chill with us anytime.”

*

Zari usually never had to worry about finding a spot to eat for lunch. She had her table, her friends, her boyfriend, all there, waiting for her. But when she approached, she noticed that there wasn’t a seat for her. Knowing that it was stupid, and she shouldn’t make a scene, she held her head high and walked right by the table. She scanned the cafeteria quickly, and saw Behrad and Z, sitting with their friends.

“Can I join you guys?” Zari asked as she approached the table. The conversation died down a little and the group looked over at her.

“Yeah, of course,” Behrad shifted over a little and pulled up a chair for her.

“Thanks,” Zari sat down, and the conversation picked up again.

Sara turned to Zari, “So, Z 2, do you have plans for the weekend because we are going to watch some _Game of Thrones_.”

“Mick is reading the books, and he wants to watch the show, even though we told him that the show had a terrible ending that is likely not in the books, but no one knows for sure, since the books are not finished and won't be finished anytime soon,” Ava explained.

“It’s just going to make him angry,” Nate pointed out. “Also, we hope the nickname Z 2 is alright for you.”

Zari smiled, “It’s fine. Also, Ray, I wanted to get in touch with you and John. I think we should rehearse some of the scenes with the three of us.”

Ray nodded, “Of course! John is a little harder to get in touch with, though.”

“Excuse me, mate?” John’s voice came from behind Ray, who whirled around.

“John! You usually don’t eat in the cafeteria!”

Zari cleared her throat, “I need your cell, to coordinate practice.”

“Don’t have one, love.”

Zari frowned, “You don’t have a phone?”

“Nope.”

“Well then how do I reach you?”

“Start screaming in Latin,” Sara suggested.

John rolled his eyes and grabbed a pen and paper from his bag. He wrote a number on it and handed it to her. “That’s my mate’s number. I’m with him all the time outside of school, plus he has a car.”

Zari nodded and took the paper. “We can practice at my house this weekend.”

*

John deeply regretted agreeing to practice on a Saturday morning. It was early and loud and Zari was intent on going over every last detail.

“So, this is your secret?” John remarked. “Practice at all hours?”

“Practicing isn’t a secret, John. And I’m not ashamed for putting in the hours to be good at something I love.”

John nodded, as they continued on with the scene. They paused several times, for Zari to give notes. At first, John said nothing, but then he started to comment back and then they were start bickering.

“You are not being as sincere as Dmitry is, John!”

“Yeah, well, you’re acting like Anya hasn’t spent a decade living in the woods! You have the snobby princess down, though.”

“Excuse me?!”

“And the temper.”

“Well, you certainly have the attitude and smugness!”

“I think,” Ray said, getting in between them, “that both of you are suited towards your roles. And I think, both of you are great actors who can bring life to your characters. But I also think, that the musical will go nowhere, if you two keep bickering! Even Anya and Dmitry had moments of sincerity between them, right?”

John and Zari said nothing. Ray shook his head, “let’s just run this scene again.”

*

John and Zari spent a lot of time practicing together. While they argued somewhat, Zari found herself enjoying his company. She was also getting close with the entire friend group. So much so, that Z had somewhat jokingly suggested that she leave her old friends for them. Sometimes, Zari thought she should. But she still had her old friends, and her boyfriend, and she didn’t want to just ditch them. So, Zari hung out with both groups. She went to a Battle of the Bands event one night, where John’s band and Charlie’s band performed. She secretly really liked the music, while her twin kept making faces and putting her hands over her ears. The friend group had also come to the fall play, in which Zari was starring. They had cheered and whooped and even presented her with a huge bouquet of flowers. Meanwhile, her old friends just went to parties and didn’t seem to even invite her most of the time. Zari had to make an effort to figure out where the parties were, which never had happened before.

Which led to Zari going to the party currently held at one of her old friend’s house. Zari and her boyfriend had driven over to a friend’s house, where the huge party was being held. As they walked in, Zari put his car keys into her purse. The plan was to just stay for a little, and then Zari would drive them home. But she soon realized that they weren’t going to be leaving anytime soon. Everyone was loudly singing and drinking, and her boyfriend quickly joined them. He went over to chat with some friends, while Zari just wandered through the house. Eventually, she decided to go in and find her boyfriend, only to see him making out with one of her close friends.

Zari quickly whipped around and headed to the front porch, before she could start crying. She sat on the porch step and took out her phone. She called Z and Behrad, but neither of them picked up. Taking a deep breath, she scrolled her contacts, until she saw the number that John had given her. She called it and waited until an unfamiliar voice answered it.

“I-I’m sorry. I’m calling for John, I can hang up—”

There were some rustling sounds and then John’s voice came over the phone, “Hey, love, what’s up?”

“I . . . I just want to go home.”

“We can pick you up. What’s the address?”

Zari told him the address, and waited patiently until a pair of headlights appeared.

John got out of the passenger seat and ran over to her. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I just want to go.”

Zari and John got into the car, which started driving. They went in silence for a bit, before John realized that she didn't know his friend. “Oh, yeah. Chas, Zari, Zari, Chas.”

“Thank you for picking me up. I really appreciate it,” Zari said.

"It's not a problem," Chas responded.

“You look like you could use some comfort food. McDonalds? Burger King? Wendys? Don’t say that cursed chicken place.” John said, looking concerned.

“I could eat a donut,” Zari mumbled. They drove until they found a Dunkin’ Donuts. They ate inside, just quietly chewing on the donuts.

“Bad party, huh?” John asked, sympathetically.

Zari nodded and then realized something and cursed to herself. “The keys. I have my boyfriend’s keys in my purse. He won’t be able to leave in the morning.”

John and Chas laughed. “We’ll head back so you can drop them off,” John said. “No worries.”

“Thanks. Sorry about dragging you away from . . . whatever you were doing.”

“We weren’t doing anything. Just wasting the night away.”

Zari smiled at John. They finished their donuts and headed back to the car. Chas got a coffee, and they drove back to the party so Zari could discreetly put the keys back. She couldn’t see her boyfriend or best friend anywhere, and her stomach dropped. She left the keys on a chair, and headed back outside to the car. Chas and John then dropped her off at her house, and drove off into the night. Zari headed in, surprised to see Z and Behrad up.

“Hey, what happened?” Z asked. “We missed your calls, and then you didn’t respond to ours.”

“Oh, I just needed a ride. It’s late, I’m going to go to bed.”

*

The rehearsals progressed and the strange tension between John and Zari continued as well. Zari had severed ties with her old friends and broke up with her boyfriend, after several late-night chats with Z, Sara, Ava, Nora, and Mona. The musical was coming along strongly. As Z watched the rehearsals, she couldn’t help but feel like there was real emotion coming out on stage. And as stupid as it sounds, Z felt a little jealous, watching Nate obsess over her sister on stage.

Zari knew Z was slightly uncomfortable with her boyfriend pretending to be in love with Zari and not Z. She felt bad and wanted to just let Z know that she shouldn’t be concerned. She was chilling backstage when Nate approached her.

“You’re amazing, Zari,” Nate’s face was earnest and smiling.

Zari smiled, “Thanks, Nate! I actually need to go find Ava, to go over some details. See ya later!”

John scowled from where he was leaning against the wall. He also picked up on Nate’s conflicting emotions. Nate was acting like Zari was his Z, when she wasn’t. They were too different people. And while he was close with Z, he felt like he was growing closer with Zari, who had finally broken up with her stupid boyfriend.

“He’s got a crush on you,” John remarked to Zari, while they were backstage.

Zari raised her eyebrows, “He’s dating my sister.”

“Your sister who has the same exact face.” John remarked. “He’s confused, love.”

“Well, do my feelings count for anything?!” Zari remarked angrily. “I don’t like him like that. He’s Z’s boyfriend, and he’s so not my type.”

“Right, ‘your type.’ I’ve heard about your exes.”

“Yeah, well, like you make great life choices anyway!” Zari shot back. A look of hurt crossed John’s face as Zari turned and angrily stomped away.

Zari eventually found her sister, sitting in the back of the auditorium. She sat down next to her. Z looked nervously ahead and bit her lip.

“You don’t like Nate, right?”

Zari smiled sympathetically. “No, I don’t.”

“It’s just weird. He’s acting like he’s in love with you, and I know it’s just acting, but . . .”

Zari nodded, “Yeah, it’s weird. But you shouldn’t worry.”

“You do have you eyes set on John,” Z replied, smirking.

Zari felt her face go red, “Well, he’s playing my actual love interest.”

“Mmm-hmmm. Look, we’re twins. I know you. I know when you’re acting, and I know when you have real feelings. And you definitely have real feelings.”

“So?” Zari said, a little sad.

Z looked pensive. “I also know John. And I don’t think he’s faking those feelings either.”

Zari didn’t say anything, but she didn’t look too convinced.

*

It was another late rehearsal, and John and Zari found themselves chatting in the hallway, as Nora and Ray were running their numbers.

“What’s your favorite song, love?”

“‘In my dreams.’”

“Really?”

“Yeah, it reveals so much about Anya. How strong and determined she is, even though she feels like something is missing. I also like ‘my Petersburg.’ What about yours?”

“Not sure, love. I think it’s probably the whole ballet sequence. It’s put together nicely. And it’s fun to see all the characters sing together, when they’re usually separate.”

Secretly, John’s favorite scene was the one between Anya and Dmitry after they have the nightmare. The sincerity and love in Zari’s eyes was hard to ignore. And the almost kiss that they do, which ends with John bowing. The scene just felt too real. But then, whenever they were done, Zari just smiled at him and applauded him for his acting.

The first time they ran through with costumes was also memorable. He had gone out with Ray and Nate to buy some clothes for the musical. He ended up renting a tuxedo for the ballet scene. He thought he looked good, but he was blown away by Zari, who was wearing a blue, strapless dress that was one of her own. John definitely didn’t need to act in that scene, when Dmitry sees her for the first time. Zari was even more beautiful in her red ballgown dress at the end.

Zari, unbeknownst to John, was also blown away upon seeing John in a tuxedo for the first time. Luckily, she didn’t have any lines, so she just took his arm and they walked offstage. Personally, her favorite scene was the end, when she got to take John’s face in her hands and kiss him to shut him up. It felt so real, but she knew it was just acting, and John probably didn’t even like her like that.

*

Opening night. John took a deep breath. He was nervous. Zari was already dressed, mic’ed, and had her makeup on. She was going around, helping others with their makeup. She helped out John and Ray, and helped to make Ray and Ava look old, by drawing lines on their faces. She also sprayed some silver hairspray onto Ray’s hair, and a whole can of it onto Ava’s hair. John, Ray, and her, also got some fake dirt put on their face, to look a little rough.

“Excellent! Let’s do this!” Zari beamed. Her hair was down, with a little braid across the front. It bounced around wherever she walked. She still looked amazing, even in the ragged Act I costume. John nodded and stood up. It was almost time.

Intermission was spent redoing some makeup, removing fake dirt, and getting changed. Zari had braided her hair into a side bun, and was helping out Ray, who had decided to wear a fake mustache. His fake mustache was now stuck onto his mouth, and so it required some rearranging to make it look presentable. John had to comb down his hair, which annoyed him. He liked his hair up and wild, but Act II was much more fancy. They all had multiple costumes for this act, and it was all a little too much for him. But it was nice to be around his friends.

At the end of opening night, John had gotten changed and was hanging around the auditorium. His cast mates were wandering around, chatting with family and friends. He was about to turn to go when he heard someone yell out his name.

“John!” Sara marched over to him, a bouquet in the crook of her arm. “Where are you going?”

“Home,” John lied. He probably would go to a parking lot and just skulk around until he was sure he could sneak into his room, undisturbed.

Sara gave him a hard look. “My dad is taking me and my sister out to dinner, and he said I could invite some of my friends. Which includes you. Come on!”

Sara grabbed John by the arm and dragged him over to where her family stood. “John’s coming,” she announced to her family, and to Ava, who had been politely talking to Sara’s dad.

“Nice to meet you, John. I’m Laurel,” Sara’s sister shook John’s hand. She was in college, so she must have come down to see Sara.

“So, just John and Ava?” Sara’s dad asked.

Sara did a glance around, “Yeah, looks like Ray is with his family, and is bringing Nora, since her dad didn’t show up. Nate is going to dinner with the Tarazis. Charlie has disappeared already, and Mona said she was just going home to get a good night’s sleep for tomorrow.”

“Perfect! Let’s go!”

Sara smiled reassuringly at John, as they walked out of the auditorium. Sara turned to Ava, “Did you see Mr. Hunter and Ms. Gideon? They totally went to see the musical together!”

“I never pictured the history teacher and the computer science teacher together, but they do seem cute,” Ava mused as they left the school.

*

The performances went well. One night, Nora’s dad came, who was extremely intimidating. Neither John nor Sara particularly liked him, but he just congratulated Nora, gave Ray a stern look, and then headed on his way. All too soon, it was closing night. John really didn’t want it to end. No one did. Everyone had been having a lot of fun.

“John,” Zari walked over to him. “I just wanted to say . . . it was nice. Acting alongside you.”

John nodded. “It was nice to act with the great Zari Tarazi. I guess we’ll just see each other randomly in the hallway now?”

Zari frowned. “I’m friends with everyone and I intend for it to remain that way. But, if you don’t want to be friends with me, then I won’t force you.” Zari left John, who felt like a big idiot.

The last performance went spectacularly. The last kiss at the end carried with it some sadness. John realized it was probably the last time they would ever kiss again. He sighed when the curtain fell and everyone went to get out of costume. The cast party was that night, and it was being hosted at Ray’s house.

*

At the cast party, everyone mingled and chatted and played games. Zari tried not to feel upset that John didn’t seem to want to talk to her. When she realized he was actively avoiding her, however, she cornered him.

“What is your problem?!” She demanded, her eyes flashing.

John grinned loosely. “You should get a gold star, love. Really a great actress. Definitely fooled me, several times.” Zari tried to ignore the slight smell of alcohol on John’s breath.

“Oh, please! You’ve fooled me too. All those lovey-dovey looks and sincere eyes. You’re not innocent in this either, John!” Zari snapped back.

John laughed. “You’re the one who started this. _Romeo and Juliet_ , remember? You spun me into your little web of followers, and then somehow manipulated me to do this musical!”

“I didn’t manipulate anyone! I suggested it, and you all decided to jump on board. I was sincere! I thought you were a great actor—”

“Why? Why did you think I was such a great actor? Was it really that unbelievable that John Constantine could have a crush on a popular, sophisticated girl like Zari Tarazi. Or maybe it was so unbelievable that she would like him back. Either way, you figured you convinced yourself that I was acting, so you didn’t have to bother to turn me down.”

Zari looked hurt. She took a deep breath, “I shouldn’t have bothered talking to you.”

“I shouldn’t have bothered with this stupid musical!” John retorted.

Zari squared her jaw. “Why? Dmitry suits you. A conman who takes advantage of a lost princess.”

“And that stubborn princess suits you. This isn’t a fairytale and you might as well just—!”

Zari humped, and decided to take a page from Anya’s book. She grabbed John’s face with her hands and brought him in for a kiss. She released and took a step back, suddenly feeling very nervous. While John had confessed to liking her, he still seemed a little angry. And drunk. She looked at John, waiting for him to say something. But he didn’t say anything. Instead he grinned and pulled her towards him for another kiss.

They ignored the whispers and calls as they went out onto the porch to talk and kiss some more. Z was sitting on the couch with Nate, smiling at the direction her sister had left in. She was glad that Zari and John seemed to be working things out. Eventually, the two came back, holding hands. Zari sat down on the couch next to her sister, and John sat at her feet, leaning against the couch. Z looked around the room at her family and friends.

“So, what about next year’s musical?”


End file.
